Pieter Styranka

Born and raised in Kapellen, Belgium, I always looked forward to, and felt most at-home, living and working on my uncles’ commercial pig farm during my summer breaks from school. Following in my cousins' footsteps, I visited my uncle’s dairy farm in Canada a few times in my youth. The weeks spent in Canada working alongside my uncle and my cousins are some of my fondest memories. I fell in love with the area, the animals and the work. As I was wrapping up my studies in Belgium, my uncle was looking for someone to help him on his dairy farm. I jumped at the opportunity to move to Canada. 

I joined the Vankleek Hill Veterinary Services team in 2013 as a veterinary technician. My duties include: helping the veterinarians with surgeries and herd health visits, and providing support in any and all capacities on-farm. The favourite part of my job is the relationships that I form with producers, and supporting the work that they do to care for their animals. Agriculture is in my blood, and I am incredibly proud to be part of this industry. 

Outside of work, my three young children keep me on my toes. We currently live in the town of Vankleek Hill, but we have recently purchased a piece of land in the country where we plan to build our future home. Our hope is to raise our kids playing outside, getting in the mud and getting themselves into innocent trouble, in just the same way that my wife and I were raised.

• Central Canada Veterinary Association, member